"Songs of the Bridge: A Sonic Journey Across Australia"

Excerpt from Jodi Rose, Radiophonic Residency Compositions and Oral History of Bridges across Australia, 2004.

Songs and Stories of the Bridge: A Trip Across Australia, Radiophonic Artist in Residence Feature, (Producer) Radio Eye, ABC Radio National
Songs of the Bridge: Compositions, Up Late, (Producer) ABC Classic FM

Jodi Rose: Bridges & Composer
Ben Fink: Piano, Guitar & co-Composer
Ion Pearce: Cello (extended improvisation techniques)
Trevor Brown: Saxophone, flute (extended improvisation techniques)
Sound Engineer: Russell Stapleton, ABC Radio Studios Ultimo

Radio National & Radio Eye Feature Credits:
Producer & Composer: Jodi Rose
Co-Composer: Ben Fink
Sound engineer: Russell Stapleton
Executive Producer, Audio Arts Unit: Robyn Ravlich

http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/radioeye/songs-of-the-bridge-a-sonic-journey-across/3433870

Bridges have become a beautiful obsession for artist Jodi Rose, since her college days when she observed Sydney's Anzac Bridge being built and speculated that its giant cables would vibrate with sound like a giant Aeolian harp. She approached the ABC for help in recording the "Singing Bridge" before it opened to traffic, and these remarkable recordings, made through applying contact microphones on the cables and stays, remain a valuable archival record of the new bridge.

These original recordings have also been included in Jodi's radiophonic feature and bridge compositions created whilst she's been artist in residence at the ABC during 2004. Jodi is the 10th artist to have the ABC Radiophonic Residency, which is supported through the New Media Arts Board of the Australia Council and is hosted by the Acoustic Art Unit of Radio National.

Jodi Rose created the basis for the compositions using the architectural shape of each bridge to shape the visual score, arranging the bridge sounds to form a structure with extended improvisations created by Ion Pearce (cello), Trevor Brown (sax). Working closely with collaborating composer Ben Fink who translates between bridges and musicians, and also plays guitar and piano, sometimes playing the bridge sounds through the instruments in order to create a sympathetic resonance.

Jodi's passion for cable and suspension bridges had seen her travel around the world to observe and record bridges in Helsinki, the Mekong delta, and Bratislava, but the residency gave the bridge nomad an opportunity to explore Australia's cable and suspension bridges and record their stories and sounds.

Her selection of bridges ranged from the metropolitan to the remote rural, and included the Indooroopilly Bridge in Brisbane with its striking Art Deco apartments, the Macintyre Bridge over the Barwon River near Geelong, the high tech Batman Bridge across the Tamar in Tasmania, and the multi-platform suspension bridge of Valley of the Giants Treetop Walk, Walpole WA.

The stories and vibrations of each bridge create a distinctive sound signature; and whilst bridges have been made possible through technological innovation, they also resonate with poetic and metaphorical meanings. Bridges connect places and people.

Demonstrating the bridge principle at work, Jodi's individual music compositions of each of the five bridges featured in this program were first broadcast in Late Nights with Julian Day on ABC Classic FM from 13 to 17 December 2004.

Recordings made on Anzac Bridge in 1995.
Recordings of Batman Bridge, Indooroopilly Bridge, Macintyre Bridge and Walpole
Treetop Walk February - April 2004
Improvisation to bridge composition recorded in ABC Radio Studio May/June 2004
Mixed & Mastered at ABC Radio Audio Arts Unit, Ultimo NSW
Created during the ABC Radiophonic Residency, ABC Radio National Audio Arts
Unit & Australia Council for the Arts New Media Arts Board 2004
First played on ABC Radio Classic FM, December 2004

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